Our Board

Janet Jukes OAM (President)

Janet has held key leadership roles in effective organisations for over twenty-five years. Janet’s experience in the human services sector includes work in child, youth and family services, relationship and counselling services, homelessness, family violence, community legal sectors, AIDS Councils and universities. Janet’s current role is CEO of Refuge Victoria.

A Centenary Medal recipient for outstanding service to young people, Janet is also a highly respected community activist with extensive networks in the lesbian, gay, and transgender communities. This activity includes being the founding Co Convenor and life member of the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby, and member of the Victorian Attorney General’s Advisory Committee on GLBTI Issues (2000 to 2010) a ministerial advisory body that steered Victorian Government law reform recognising LGBTI parenting, equality in relationships recognition, human rights protections, and birth certificate recognition.

Janet is currently Deputy Chair for both No To Violence (peak body working with men to end family violence) and the National LGBTI Health Alliance (National Peak Body for LGBTIQ+ community controlled organisations), and has recently participated in advisory committees to establish a Pride Centre Victoria and the Marriage Equality Victorian Campaign.

A recurrent theme in Janet’s professional and voluntary work is a desire to see an improvement in the human dignity of those who are made vulnerable within our communities. Janet is concerned with making a sustainable difference and this been the key reason for her continued investment of her time energy and expertise in strong and effective LGBTIQ+ community-controlled organisations such as Thorne Harbour Health.

Tamsin Anspach (Vice President)

Tamsin Anspach is a dedicated advocate and leader in our LGBTIQA+ communities, now serving as a board member at Thorne Harbour Health.

Originally from Adelaide, Tamsin has held numerous leadership roles, including being the first openly trans Women’s Officer at a South Australian university and a board member for the National Union of Students. She has also contributed significantly to ActNow Theatre, the Youth Affairs Council of South Australia (YACSA), and the South Australian Rainbow Advocacy Alliance (SARAA). Tamsin’s commitment to governance and advocacy continues to inspire and drive positive change for trans and gender diverse communities.

Neil Pharaoh (Interim Treasurer)

Neil Pharaoh brings many years of senior-level, strategic experience in building scalable, sustainable organisations in both the corporate and not-for-profit sectors to the leadership table, including working in small business, management consulting, international development and the social purpose sector (both in Australia and internationally). Neil sits on government boards in environment & sustainability, as well as a private software and technology company.

Neil has been the driving force behind many leading social policy and advocacy campaigns, as well as national and international philanthropic and development work, in child welfare, education, and LGBTIQ+ issues. Neil was a founding director of LGBTIQ+ philanthropic group, Rainbow Giving Australia, and was national co-convenor of Rainbow Labor, where he led the internal campaign which achieved over 200 legislative and regulatory reforms, including changing the Labor Party’s position on marriage equality. Neil was featured in the Deloitte ‘2018 Outstanding 50 LGBTI Leaders’ list and ran for parliament in 2014 and 2018 as the candidate for Prahran, Victoria. He also helped establish the Nexus Global Youth Summit in Australia.

Neil is keen to develop and extend new ways of engaging our members and community to grow in Victoria, South Australia and beyond, and lives in regional Victoria with his partner and two Italian Greyhounds.

Paul Kidd

Paul Kidd is an activist and advocate who has been living with HIV for more than 30 years. He has extensive experience in community sector governance, having served on numerous boards, including as president of Living Positive Victoria for three years. A life member of Thorne Harbour Health, he is a passionate advocate for the rights of people with HIV and was instrumental in the successful campaign to repeal Victoria’s HIV criminal statute, section 19A. He is a practising lawyer, working in criminal defence and therapeutic justice.

Dr Adam Bourne

Adam Bourne is Associate Professor of Public Health at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health & Society (ARCSHS) at La Trobe University, where he leads research relating to LGBTIQ+ health and wellbeing. Originally from the UK, Adam has spent nearly 15 years in social research relating to HIV, drug and alcohol use, and the mental health of marginalised populations. He has served as an advisor to the European Centres for Disease Control, the UK Home Office, and previously worked on secondment with the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, helping to develop their research and evaluation capacity.

Adam has worked in partnership with community led organisations across Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, South East Asia and now Australia, and he is committed to showcasing the crucial role that they play in the ongoing HIV epidemic and in reducing health inequality experienced by LGBTIQ+ populations.

Nevena Spirovska

Nevena Spirovska is a human rights advocate, with a passion for contributing to and enriching LGBTIQ+ communities.

She works as General Manager of the Information Rights Project and co-hosts Saturday Magazine, JOY's longest running flagship news and current affairs radio program. Nevena has been recognised as one of the Outstanding 50 Australian LGBTI+ Leaders by Deloitte and Google, completed the University of Melbourne's Master of Public Policy and Management, and the Australian Institute of Company Directors Course.

Christabel Millar

Christabel Millar is a community advocate and activist for all people living with and affected by HIV. She is a cis queer woman who has lived and loved with HIV for over 15 years. Christabel is committed to improving the quality of life for all people living with HIV and supporting our community's diverse needs that often meet at the intersection of health and human rights.

She has held executive positions in governance, advocacy and community leadership, serving on the Board of Living Positive Victoria for seven years with the final two years as President. Christabel currently works in Community Resilience and Education within the Victorian Emergency Services. She is a community engagement and health promotion professional who models all her participation on MIPA principles and advocates for recognition of the impact that different identities and intersections have on living well with HIV.

Mohamed Al Abri

Mohamed is a community leader with more than 15 years of experience in governance, capability, and advocacy for LGBTIQA+ communities, especially those from diverse cultural and refugee backgrounds. Living with HIV for 16 years, he has been a long-standing volunteer with Thorne Harbour Health since 2009, providing outreach in sex-on-premises venues, online spaces, community events and promotional campaigns.

His previous experience include serving on the board of the Forcibly Displaced People Network - advocating for LGBTIQA refugees and asylum seekers, serving on the ACT LGBTIQA Ministerial Advisory Council advising the Chief Minister on community issues. He is currently working with Living Positive Victoria as a Positive Speaker.

Professionally, Mohamed is a Senior Capability Advisor with the Australian Public Service and in 2025 he received an Australia Day award for his work advancing cultural capabilities and the GLOBE Victorian Volunteer of the Year award for his work with LGBTIQA+ refugees.